Dragonette Take the DIY Route for Sophomore Album

Posted on Sep 11th 2009 4:30PM by Drew Berner
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It's hard to imagine a major-label band with only one album to their credit would want to forsake the production perks a corporation has to offer. Yet that's exactly what trans-Atlantic electro-pop outfit Dragonette did for their sophomore effort, 'Fixin' to Thrill.'

The core of the band, husband and wife duo Martina Sorbara and Dan Kurtz, explain to Spinner that after their 2006 debut, 'Galore,' they shunned the idea of spending weeks in a commercial studio and opted to create their own recording space in their London, England instead.

Though Sorbara admits that a home studio had the potential for distraction, she insists, "It was nice to be in that comfortable setting. Going into it, it felt really daunting to have to write 15 new songs. But it all just flowed in a really natural way, which is surprising because I'm not a very disciplined person."

But the pressure of being responsible for all aspects of the production took its toll, too. Kurtz -- who Toronto music fans may recognize from the New Deal -- tells Spinner, "It's just great to not be making a record any more. I mean, if you have the more traditional team of people around you making a record, where you've got a guy who's on your case about writing the tunes and somebody helping you write them and somebody else paying the studio bills -- erase all that and that's how we made the record. If I need a piece of gear I've got to find it. The studio -- let's build it at our house. The guy that's going to be on top of us to finish the record -- that'll be me. So that's why it's so great not to be doing it any more."

With production wrapped on the album, they now have plenty of time to "party like crazy," Kurtz jokes. "I'm holding my wife's purse and her phone, I'm driving my mom's car -- that's so rock 'n' roll." 'Fixin to Thrill' is due out Sept. 29 and their North American tour starts Oct. 2 in Peterborough, Ont., but in the meantime, check out Dragonette's new video for 'Pick Up the Phone'.